Introduce yourself to Raw Charge (2011-12 edition)

Who am I? Oh God. The pressure! I…I…I don’t know! Let me get back to you on that, okay?! :oO

Me: my family, goalies, Lightning, Preds, goalies, Nashville, historian, goalies, Twitter, and goalies.

This is the third introduction post I’ve done on RC, and I’ve done one (brutally typed) explanation of who I am which didn’t really explain much. It defaulted to an interview I did on SB Nation with the network founder.

Hi, how are you? What is that hanging from your nose? No, left side… further left… yeah, that thing. Gross…

I’m a versed online presence with sports communities and just online in general. It was fostered in a way by me losing my hearing at age 18 with thanks to a genetic disease I have. (I told you I’d e honest and frank) I entered into the web design field and learned the ropes, and then … got laid off when dot-com was blowing up and soon to become dot-bust.

I got involved in hockeyboards.com and baseballboards.com — which would combine to become FanHome.com in January 2001. The site was one of the largest congregations of intelligent fan discussion around at the time. I was community manager, overseeing the network’s moderators and trying to run the anarchy that was the site. I stayed on until October 2002 when the network merged with Scout.com, and then went onto my own.

It’d be another year and a few months before I founded Boltsmag.com, which was one of the first Tampa Bay Lightning blogs out there. It was founded at a time when the biggest web presence the Bolts had (besides their official site) was mostly dead web sites that had been made in 1997-98. I’ll reach my eighth blogger-versery in February 2012.

I’ve had other sites in the past that got me media notoriety – one was an Abolish the Designated Hitter web site, which got me in USA Today in the late summer of 2004 (and grouped with the likes of “Crash” Davis and Tony LaRussa).

The other site? It got me a cease and desist order from the most influential musical group of the 20th century.

There’s more! There’s less! It’s an ice breaker that you didn’t ask for, but it’s me! Behold and revel in my inanity!

Born and raised in Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Lived in São Paulo for a while as a kid. I’m 23 (actually 24 next Monday) and a big Grêmio FBPA fan. Have a degree in Chemical Engineering (2009) and I’m getting a master’s degree in Technological Chemistry but I don’t wan’t to be in the university forever, so if any of you guys know a company needing a chemical engineer… =P

Became a Lightning fan in 2004 when I watched a game where Marty just ruled and basically won by himself. For that I thank you, Martin St. Louis. Before that game I only knew hockey through videogames. I knew very little about hockey then (even less than I know now, hehe) so I started to get as much information as I could about the league and the Bolts. Unfortulately, ESPN stopped airing NHL games after the lockout so watching more games became a little difficult. I starting watching games online around 2008, so that makes me a pretty recent fan I guess.

Hi, I’m Shawn…and I’m a hockey addict.
My affliction began in the early 80’s. Growing up in the south I never had a chance to try to play the game, but around the time of my 13th birthday a wonderful thing happened…CABLE TV came to the small town in central Florida where I grew up.
WOR-NY, WGN-Chicago, MSGNetwork among others became my passion.
My friends, in this warm-weather, football mecca called “the Sunshine State” thought I was nuts…I formed no real allegiance to one team or other, I just LOVED the game!
In 1990 or so rumors started hot and heavy about a hockey team coming here. Here, of all places, Tampa Bay…AHHH, who’s NUTS now, eh!!
I’ve seen many Lightning games, from the franchise opener at the pitifully small Expo Hall, too many at the old Thunderdome, and of course my share at our beloved Ice Palace on Channelside.
My most memorable, however, is one I watched on TV…Gm 6 vs. Calgary, 2004 Cup run. Marty St.Louis skates down the left side…I fully expected him to take it behind the net or pop it back out front…but the little waterbug smacked a short side shot heard throughout the Lightning universe!! I’ll never forget screaming at the top of my lungs at the sheer joy of KNOWING the Stanley Cup would belong to my home team. Yes, a Gm 7 was coming, but It was “Ours” and you could feel it. Unforgettable.

Shawn comes to his senses and realizes everyone is staring

Sooo…uhhhmm…in closing, I really like hockey. Go Boltz!!
:o)

First my background: though I was born in Montana, I call Washington state home. I’m a 17+ year member of the Air Force, fortunate enough to be stationed just a few minutes south of The Forum. I’ve been stationed many places, but this is my first time being stationed in the home city of an NHL franchise and I love it.

My love of hockey didn’t start until after my career in the Air Force started. At the time, I was stationed about 30 miles from St Louis, so for the past 17+ years the Blues have been my hockey love. To this day, they remain close to my heart.

One of the hockey podcasts to which I subscribe uses the analogy of "girlfriend" teams—teams for which you find a certain affinity and don’t follow with any significant amount of time, but one to which you find yourself attracted. When I bought the PC game NHL 94, the Lightning became my "girlfriend" team, a status that remained unchanged until my assignment here in Tampa in December 2009. Our (me and my family) first game was the December game against the Thrashers. That night, the relationship deepened. I wept for my new love in the down months of 2009-2010, but with Mr Vinik and his team’s arrival last spring, I rejoiced.

I will always love the Blues—they were my first love, after all—but most of my love now is with the Lightning.

Some trivial items:
Fave current player: Dion Phaneuf
Fave retired player: Tony Twist/Kelly Chase (tie)
Fave Lightning player: Stamkos/Brewer (tie)
Least fave hockey personality: Bettman/McSorley (tie)

That is all. What questions did I not answer?

My name is Jay. I’d lived in four different states by the time I was six years old, but I grew up in East Tennessee, so I’m a Southerner by adoption. I went to a small college in South Carolina that you haven’t heard of (unless you’re Tina), did grad school in the Boston area, and am now in more different grad school at UNC (doing my Ph.D. in Philosophy).

I’m not sure why I picked up the Bolts as my favorite team in the first place—it may just be because Lightning sounded really cool to elementary school me. But I always followed them in the standings in the newspaper, although I never actually watched them until they started making the playoffs when I was in high school. Seriously, regular season hockey on TV in the 90s in Tennessee? Not a chance. But I remember tearing myself away from a family Easter celebration to watch the 2003 series with the Caps, I remember the back-and-forth 2004 series with the Flyers, and I especially remember a trip that my best friend and family took to Kiawah Island the first week of June in 2004. Every other evening, we were glued to the TV, cheering on the Bolts against Calgary. I won’t go into details, because y’all know them. But it was awesome.

Then I didn’t watch hockey again until last year. Lockout, then college in South Carolina, which meant even more no Bolts on TV. Last year is when I realized that the Internet allowed me to watch pretty much whatever I wanted, and I’ve been on the road to hooked ever since. I never played hockey (I did have a year of intercollegiate soccer at right back), and I only followed it when I was little because I followed every sport. But now, while watching baseball leads me down the road to not caring, and watching the NFL or NBA makes me wish it were college instead, watching the Bolts is slowly turning into obsession. Also, that playoff run last year was a blast, and I’m developing a slight mancrush on Teddy Purcell. I’ve been to three Bolts games in person (8-1 loss to Boston last year, 5-1 win over the ‘Canes this year, 4-2 loss to the ’Canes last night), I’ve seen Purcell score twice, and Connolly’s first ever was right in front of me. Also, to get my fix, I have a 12-game Hurricanes plan this year. My time in Boston turned me into a staunch defender of the South, so I’ll extend strong support to Carolina and Nashville when they don’t play Tampa. Also, R.I.P. Thrashers.

Other primary obsessions include a pretty wide range of books, movies, and music, if you’ve been around me a while, you’ve heard me go on about my favorite obscure Irish Catholic from Oklahoma, R.A. Lafferty. Seriously, read this. And the University of Tennessee. I didn’t go there, but I grew up there, and it is my #1 obsession. I do some writing at Rocky Top Talk (their tag-line is actually what I said upon returning from watching the first round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament live in Providence, RI), and that and Raw Charge are my two primary SBN hangouts.

Also, you know, rambling. Sorry.

We are all insane. It’s nice to have company. :)

But, here goes “here goes nothing” or rather, Here goes something, here comes nothing.

Anyway, me. I was born in NC and raised in SC (and yeah, I’ve heard of that school Jay was talking about). Started watching hockey during the 1980 Winter Games…. you know the one I’m talking about. Started playing some later and joined a ladies rec league for a few years. Cassie’s the d-man, I’m a winger by trade. Can’t play now because of a bad knee, too many years of playing catcher in softball have taken their toll I’m afraid.

Went to college in SC (CLEMSON), worked in retail and route sales for the pet supply industry (my major in college was Animal Science.) My original plan was to go to vet school. Well, that never worked out so now I work in a “zoo” instead… I’ve been with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police department for going on 17 years now. Haven’t had to shoot anybody and (thankfully) nobody’s been shooting at me either.

Started watching the Lightning shortly after I got the internet and have been an avid supporter/fan/fanatic since 2003. I’ve been lurking around RC for a couple of years now and John and Cassie have been nice enough to let me stick around. Although there was that one time John banned me from posting…just because I tried to trade him to the Rangers… geez…

Well, I don’t know where to begin. Guess the best place is that I’m 99% sure I’m the youngest (semi) regular here: only 17, still a junior in high school. I know, still a whipper snapper. :)

Born and still reside in Michigan, in the same house my whole life (though I want to go away for college). Have been playing hockey since the age of 4 and still do now, and I’ve actually become a decent, small forward… the best player to compare me to is MSL because of the size thing but I can’t do anything near what he can do. :P

Hockey has always been my favorite sport, but I am a huge fan of watching any type of competition (if there was actually an Ocho I’d watch). Most of my free time is spent watching networks like ESPN, NHL Net, and their respective websites, though like most typical teenagers I hang out with friends, play CoD, that type of stuff. What you’d expect.
I guess I do homework too, but not really. I don’t kinda… have to. School has always come extremely easy to me- right now holding down a 4.2 weighted GPA with relative ease at a private Catholic high school I was awarded a full scholarship to- and I just took the ACT a couple weeks ago. Unlike most kids I’m looking forward to the results.

Favorite teams for other sorts is the Braves for baseball, the Lions for football, Michigan for collegiate sports, and of course the Lightning (along with my hometown Wings). Was a Wings fan first, started getting into the Lightning in about 06-07 for… no particular reason. Was overjoyed when JM was hired, and I’ve been proud to show off my Tampa stuff and say legitimately that I was no bandwagon.

And after much prodding on my part, my family has decided to forgo the usual February/March ski trip up north and instead go to Tampa. It will be my first time seeing the Lightning in person. I’m justifiably charged (pun intended :P) for that.

Jay, you mentioned rambling? Yeah, this was one huge ramble at 1:00 AM because no classes tomorrow. I guess I’ll finish with a favorites (in the NHL) list:

Favorite current player: Stammer, than MSL, than Pavs (I’m sure we can all guess who that is :P)
Favorite retired player: Shanny and then Yzerman
Most hated team: Anaheim, then the Isles, then the Pens, then the Flyers, then the Canucks, then the…
Gee, I hate a lot of teams… lol
Most hated current player: Matt Cooke
Most hated retired player: Jeremy Roenick (every time I see him on VS I just want to punch him in the face)

Final word: I enjoy imitating Mike Emerick’s announcing style and announce NHL 12 games, regular NHL games with the sound muted, even stuff like backyard hockey. I know, weird. But I love Doc’s style and I love announcing.

…back in the ol’ wild, wild west days of the internet. And I was really, really good at that, although I’m not particiularly proud of it now. I said some mean things and made people laugh, undoubtedly hurting people’s feelings in the process. The good news is that a professional writer who used to troll such boards recognized something in my writing and encouraged me to use my skills for good rather than evil. That led, eventually, to a monthly column on minor league baseball for America On Line (I told you it was the olden days). Various other gigs came and went, including the launch of my own web site dedicated to humor/pop culture/daily life observations and a writing (and producing)credit for a documentary film about female government leaders in the Tampa Bay area. Thankfully, gigs continue to come and go and one of the best has been landing here at Raw Charge, sharing the experience of rooting for the Lightning with the great people who come here.
It’s a looooong way from personally insultingand ridiculing people for saying bad things about the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Benton Harbor. That was considered the sticks to me as a city kid!! lol That had to be a great place to grow up in. I’m trying to remember a small bar that I visited a few times. Kind of a main street place. This was back in the early 70’s. Live rock and pretty woman. Doesn’t get better than that!!

I understand the old days of the internet quite well. The first time I signed on was to the old prodigy server. On a 14.4k phone modem. In retrospect, I could have tied two tin cans together with a string and had better service!

Seems like you go to many games at the Palace. I’ll let you know when I’ll be there next. A brew is on me. Let’s get Joe Bolts to join us!

Aged 27 and a native of Tampa, who is currently living in the Lake Shore area of Lutz. I am a fan of all Tampa sports, including the defunct Mutiny(the legend of El Pibe will never die!). My lightning lust was discovered in ‘92 when my dad took me to a game vs. the Jets at the Thunderdome. Since then I have marveled in the accomplishments this organization has accrued over the past twenty years, i.e., the first woman to play in an NHL game, from worst to first in ’03, the capacity to maintain a hockey market in the south, and of course, the first for what hopes to be many more Stanley Cups in ’04. I couldn’t be happier to see the organization finally being represented by top notch ownership and management.

Even though I’m reticent by nature and am not usually one for in depth dialogue, I always display my humanist qualities and acknowledge everyone of the same character. I am currently working towards my AA in Liberal Arts at HCC. After which I have completed, I will have decided on a major course of study at USF. I honestly don’t know where I belong in the broad and often confusing spectrum of society, and as apathetic as this may sound, I don’t really care. As long as I am in an occupation that serves a purpose for the greater good of humanity and provides a comfortable standard of living, I will be satisfied. Oh, and season tix would be great too.

RawCharge has slowly, but steadily built a friendly and informative community over the past couple years thanks to John and Co.. I don’t get a chance to visit the GDTs as often as I’d like to with my obligation to school, but I look forward to seeing more success from our team and this great blog that admirably represents it.

That’s really all there is about me for now, so I will just exit with the conventional mantra…GO BOLTS!